The guide offers information to family day care providers who desire to expand their knowledge of early childhood development in order to work with infants and young children with special needs in their day care settings. The first of four chapters answers common questions and concerns of day care providers, describes children with special needs and the importance of early intervention, lists advantages of having children with special needs in the family day care setting, and explores providers' feelings and reactions to special needs children. Chapter 2 discusses aspects of child development, including sequential learning and developmental milestones, and describes the importance of gathering information, communicating with parents, observing the child carefully, and noting warning signs of developmental delay or other disability. Chapter 3 outlines steps to take in referring a child for assessment, describes participation in the assessment process, and discusses working with specialists. A final chapter focuses on the relationship between providers and parents of special needs children, including understanding parents' needs and reactions, ingredients for a positive provider-parent relationship, parent meetings, and parent involvement. A bibliography and list of organizational resources are appended. (JW)